


My Love Waits (In the Basement)

by Rebelwerewolf



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cleveland, Horror, M/M, Republican National Convention, Sad Ending, True Love, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 19:14:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7544611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebelwerewolf/pseuds/Rebelwerewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When there is a zombie outbreak at the Republican National Convention, Ben Hux-Solo sets out in search of his husband Armitage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Love Waits (In the Basement)

_Cleveland, July 19th_

"I'm right near our exit, but traffic's all backed up. Looks like there's a mob of protestors on the highway. Might be a while before I get home." That was the last text that Ben received from his husband Armitage.

Ben had turned on the TV after another half-hour of worried waiting. He was expecting to find news of riots that had broken out downtown due to protests at the Republican National Convention. He was not expecting to see a screaming newscaster being eaten alive by a mob while the camera crew dropped their equipment and ran. The camera came to a rest next to the news anchor's still-writhing body. Ben could see intestines being ripped out and devoured before the camera feed thankfully cut to a screen explaining that the network was having difficulties.

He checked to make sure he had been watching the news station and not a horror movie. He checked a couple of news websites, Twitter, and Facebook. They all confirmed that what he had seen on TV was real. People were rampaging through downtown Cleveland eating one another like mindless beasts. Without hesitation, he had run down the stairs to his basement, grabbed his souvenir katana, and set off on foot in search of Armitage.

The highway was a mass of stopped cars and moving bodies. He shoved his way through a crowd of panicked people running east, away from the city. Once, he accidentally knocked someone over, but when he tried to lean down to help them up, they had already disappeared, crushed by the crowd. Horrified, Ben checked that his katana was securely strapped to his back and continued to wade upstream.

He felt a brief moment of relief when the crowd thinned out, slowing to just a few ambling pedestrians, but it was quickly replaced by fear when he realized why. The few figures on this stretch of highway were walking toward him purposefully, but with odd, broken gaits. At about 100 feet, he could tell that something was horribly wrong. The people walking toward him were covered in blood, their clothes torn, missing the occasional limb or trailing something he soon realized was innards. They were not people at all. They were the hungry masses he had seen on TV.

Ben hadn't ever used his katana against another being. In fact, he hadn't used it in over a decade. He had only ever used it to mimic his favorite anime shows when he was in high school. But now there was no choice. Gripping the handle like a baseball bat, he swung when the nearest creature was at arm's length. He felt the blade enter the creature's jaw and catch. Even with a katana embedded in its face, the creature showed no signs of relenting, continuing to flail its arms in Ben's direction and emitting a guttural moan.

Ben raised a foot and kicked the creature away, dislodging it from his blade. _Should have worn boots_ , he thought as blood and guts sloshed over his mesh running shoe. He clambered on top of a van to gain some distance from the creature as it stumbled back to its feet. The view drew an involuntary gasp from his chest. As far as the eye could see, the highway was a parking lot with a few scattered moving bodies. Just a few cars away, he spotted the familiar, egg-shaped silhouette of Armitage's old Honda Civic.

Ben leaped off the car and took off running. He slashed at the shambling creatures in his path, not managing to incapacitate them, but slowing their progress enough for him to get through.

"Armitage!" he roared as he reached the car. He saw a flash of red hair inside, but the doors were locked. "Open the door!"

Slowly, the figure inside the car turned to face Ben. It was Armitage. He looked paler than usual. He rolled the window down just a crack. "Ben... Don't... Don't come in," Armitage rasped.

Ben stared at his husband through the window. Armitage was clutching his shoulder, blood coating his hand and his entire side. His breathing was ragged and labored, and he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Mitty, you have to open the door," Ben pleaded. "We have to get you to a doctor."

"It's too late for me."

"No!" Ben shouted as he slammed the hilt of his katana against the window on the driver's side. The window cracked and then shattered, spraying shards of glass across both men.

Armitage hastily crawled away from Ben, huddling in the cramped back seat. "Stay... stay away from me," the injured man begged as Ben reached through the broken window to unlock the door. Then, in a much louder voice, he exclaimed, "Ben, behind you!"

Ben whirled around to see two of the mindless creatures that had once been human advancing on him. In a single deft stroke, he decapitated one and sliced clean through the torso of the second. The headless creature was motionless, but Ben was perturbed to see that the one that had been reduced to a bust was still attempting to gnash its teeth. He punted it a safe distance away, then opened the door, perfunctorily brushed the glass shards aside, and sat in the driver's seat.

"Come on," Ben said, motioning toward Armitage. "We have to get out of here before more of those things find us."

"Don't you understand?" Armitage's shaky voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm becoming one of them."

For a moment, Ben was stunned into silence, but he was far too stubborn to give up. "That's the blood loss talking," he said unconvincingly. "You'll be okay. Just get out of the car. If you can't walk, I'll carry you."

"Ben... my love... you have to go," Armitage said weakly. The expression on his face was neutral, but Ben could tell that his husband was in a lot of pain and trying not to show it.

_Noble and poised until the very end_ , Ben thought and then quickly chastised himself for thinking it could be the end. He reached one long arm into the back seat and grasped Armitage's hand in his own. "I'm not leaving you." He was choking on his words now.

"Go... Live." With those final words, Armitage Hux-Solo died.

 

* * *

 

 

_One month later_

"Pumpkin? I'm home!" Ben called out cheerfully as he stepped through the front door of his apartment. He locked the door, hammered two criss-crossing planks of wood to hold it in place, and pushed his couch against it for good measure. He slung his backpack to the floor, dropped his bloody katana with a loud clatter, and flopped onto the couch.

His outing hadn't been very successful. The day of the _incident_ , Ben had fought his way through a crowd of looters at the local grocery store to pick up supplies. Those had lasted two weeks, after which he had gone out to raid a gas station and a drugstore for another week's worth of food, most of which was expired and starting to mold.

This time, all of the obvious locations had been picked bare. Ben had found an office building and skipped the mildewing refrigerators to rummage through drawers full of paperwork and the occasional snack. He found several granola bars, melted candies, bags of chips, and a five-gallon container of water for the water cooler.

As he headed for home, he was cornered by a pack of the roaming undead and had to throw himself over a fence to escape, leaving the water behind. He wondered how long he should wait before heading back to try to grab it. Wait too short of a time, and the creatures would still be there, having no reason to move unless they detected prey. Wait too long, and another scavenger could come along and pick up his hard-earned loot.

Ben eyed the jug of water on his kitchen counter. He would only be able to wait a day before his supply ran low, maybe two if he rationed conservatively. He decided to go talk to Armitage about it. Being with Armitage always helped him think clearly.

Ben carefully fitted a bandana around his face before heading to the basement. The stench was becoming unbearable. He creaked open the door and shone a flashlight down the stairs. At the other end of the small room stood a figure.

Armitage, or rather, the thing that used to be Armitage, was chained to the wall by manacles around each wrist and ankle. He wore another shackle around his neck. This one had been added after Ben had entered the basement after his last supply run to find that the withered creature had slipped both of his hands out of their restraints, leaving chunks of skin and muscle sloughed off on the unfinished floor.

Armitage turned toward Ben as he approached. There was no recognition in the creature's eyes. Instead, his frightful, lipless mouth repeatedly opened and closed, yellowed teeth searching for his next meal.

Ben sat on the ground across from the creature, leaving a safe distance between them. "Mitty," he said softly. "I've had a hell of a day."

The only reply he received was a series of growls as the creature strained toward him. Ben nodded as if Armitage had given an actual response.

For the next couple of hours, Ben talked to the mindless monster about a variety of topics: his journey that day, his theories about the origin of the disease, his hopes and plans for the future. He made the decision to wait one day before heading back for the jug of water.

"Thanks for listening. I love you," he murmured, staring into dead eyes.

Ben's back ached from sitting on the hard floor, and he stretched as he rose to a standing position. He knew he couldn't keep doing this. Eventually, he would have to face the reality that his beloved husband was gone forever and slay the creature chained in his basement.

_Tomorrow_ , Ben told himself as he headed back upstairs. He still couldn't imagine bringing down his katana and slicing through the soulless shell that used to be his Armitage. Briefly, he entertained giving himself to the creature instead and letting it devour the increasingly soulless shell that used to be Ben.

**Author's Note:**

> For the ["33 Days of Guro Kylux Challenge"](http://saltandlimes.tumblr.com/post/147223172646/33-days-of-guro-kylux-challenge), day 8. undead/zombie.


End file.
